The House Armed Services Committee voted to include a proposal in its annual defense spending bill that supporters say will protect freedom of speech for service members.
The panel, considering the National Defense Authorization Act, adopted an amendment that would prohibit “discipline against [a] member of Armed Forces solely based on comment, post, or other activity originating from a third party regarding a political matter on an online account, forum, etc..”
The amendment by Colorado GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn was among many introduced Wednesday as the committee considered changes to the bill, which will lay out funding for the Department of Defense for the new fiscal year.
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The proposal drew crossover Democratic support and comes as Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about “wokeness” in the military.
Lamborn told the Washington Examiner in a statement the Biden administration “has increasingly attempted to label conservative views as extremist.”
My #NDAA amendment, which protects the First Amendment Rights of our military service members on social media, just passed. We cannot let the DoD punish our men and women in uniform for their conservative views by labeling them extremist. This is a big win!
— Rep. Doug Lamborn (@RepDLamborn) September 1, 2021
“My amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act will protect the First Amendment Rights of all military service members on social media platforms and prevent mainstream conservative viewpoints from being labeled as extremist,” he wrote. “Moving forward, the DoD should not be allowed to punish men or women for their constitutionally protected views.”
One of the most notable amendments to be passed on Wednesday was an increase in the budget. House Republicans, with Democratic defectors, voted to increase the budget by approximately $24 billion above the Biden administration’s request.
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That change would raise the total spending allocated for the 2022 fiscal year to roughly $778 billion, in line with the spending approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
America’s military withdrawal from Afghanistan loomed over the NDAA amendments and markup. The GOP side filed more than 50 amendments related to the withdrawal prior to Wednesday’s hearing.
